Category Archives: Japanese Study: Advanced

Japanese fiction translation: “Final Days of Summer” by “Masaki Hashiba” [Story 2 / Part 3]

This is my translation of the 3rd chapter of the second story “Starfollower” (星を辿る人) of the fantasy work “Final Days of Summer” (残夏)  by Masaki Hashiba (ハシバ柾). I’ve gotten permission from the author to translate it and put it on my blog. The original work was published online not in chapters, but as one long entry with some breaks.… Read More »

Japanese fiction translation: “Final Days of Summer” by “Masaki Hashiba” [Story 2 / Part 2]

This is my translation of the second chapter of the second story “Starfollower” (星を辿る人) of the fantasy work “Final Days of Summer” (残夏)  by Masaki Hashiba (ハシバ柾). I’ve gotten permission from the author to translate it and put it on my blog. The original work was published online not in chapters, but as one long entry with some breaks.… Read More »

Japanese book review: “その日本語、大人はカチンときます!” [That Japanese is offensive!]

The other day when browsing Kinokuniya’s Beaverton store (near Portland, Oregon), a book titled “その日本語、大人はカチンときます!” (“That Japanese is offensive!”)  caught my interest so I decided to try it out.  It was published in 2016 by 青春出版社 (Seishun Publishing Company), edited by  ビジネス文章力研究所 (Business Bunshoryoku Kenkujo), and is a little under 200 pages. (Note: the title technically literally says… Read More »

Japanese fiction translation: “Final Days of Summer” by “Masaki Hashiba” [Story 2 / Part 1]

This is my translation of the first chapter of the second story “Starfollower” (星を辿る人) of the series “Final Days of Summer” (残夏)  by Masaki Hashiba (ハシバ柾). I’ve gotten permission from the author to translate it and put it on my blog. While technically a separate story than the first story (“Stargazer”) it is very strongly related, and… Read More »

Japanese Slang Word: 「鬼〜」 (Oni~)

When studying Japanese, especially if you don’t live in Japan, there are always blind spots which can develop in your learning depending on what materials and methods you use to study. One area that I’ve found difficult is slang, because many of the materials I use (especially books and TV dramas) tend to not use… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 6]

This is the 6th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land and his encounter with its indigenous people and culture. If you enjoy this story and want to read more, please consider liking this… Read More »

Japanese translation sample: “Poverty Lessons” (ビンボー魂) by Toru Kazama (風間トオル)

Recently I posted a review of the book “Poverty Lessons” by Toru Kazama, which is biography of the actor’s life, focusing on his difficult times in poverty and what he learned as a result of that. As a translation exercise and to give a little exposure of this great book to English-speaking audiences, I’ve decided to translate… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 5]

This is the 5th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land and his encounter with its indigenous people and culture. If you enjoy this story and want to read more, please consider liking this… Read More »

A comical error: Google Translate fails miserably to translate a Japanese verb

Generally speaking, I don’t like to point out the linguistic errors of others (or if I do, I at least try to be polite about it). But if it’s a mistake of a computer program I don’t feel compelled to hold back. I’ve been checking up now and then on Japanese to English translation technologies, especially… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 4]

This is the 4rd chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land and his encounter with the indigenous people there. If you enjoy this story and want to read more, please consider liking… Read More »